Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Loving the Blues

by Ruth Clagan, from the Clock Shop Mystery series by Julianne Holmes

Much as I love the Fourth of July, and I do, that isn't my favorite thing about the first week of July. My favorite thing, my very favorite thing, is that blueberries are in season. Sure, during the winter I make due with imports and frozen. And earlier in the season, New Jersey will due. But when the blueberry wave hits New England--now that's a good time.

When I say I love blueberries, I mean I LOVE blueberries. In pie. In muffins. In smoothies. In ice cream. In bowls with a dollop of cream. Mixed in with plain yogurt. In parfaits. On salads. In a cobbler. In drinks--either as a juice, a garnish, or part of a syrup. Part tart, part sweet, all delicious. And in season? Abundant.

Many of my Maine friends love Blueberry Grunt, which is sort of a mix between a shortcake and a cobbler. Here's a recipe. Nancy Reed makes a fabulous grunt, but she isn't sharing her recipe and Caroline and I haven't been able to replicate it.

How about you, dear readers? Are you blueberry fans? Any favorite dishes?

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JHAuthors.com is the website for one woman who has three names. As Julianne Holmes, she writes the Clock Shop Mystery series. As J.A. Hennrikus, she writes the Theater Cop series. And in January, Julia Henry will debut the Garden Squad Series. She is on Instagram and Facebook as @JHAuthors. She also blogs with the WickedCozyAuthors.

6 comments:

Fresh blueberries! There are a couple of you-pick-em places in the NC mountains about 30 minutes from Blue Plum. The berries will be ripe right around the 4th of July. I like them any way at all, so I'm sure I'll like grunt. Thanks for the recipe!

I LOVE BLUEBERRIES! Before we moved I had access to a very old and very huge blueberry plant. Believe it or not I only got access to it after the owner and her family had their fill of blueberries. One year I furnished us and several other families filling freezers for later use as well by picking 133 pounds off that one bush. The blueberries were the larger variety too. In one day, I picked a bushel basket full. Now until you realize the size of one blueberry, you can't fathom how many that is. With the summer heat, once I got home I had to spread on a sheets spread out over the whole dining room floor to cool them off.

We have friends in Maine with a field of blueberries. My husband LOVES to pick them, so we were well supplied. The challenge was trying out more and more recipes.Our favorite is a baked pie crust with raw berries heaped in and glazed with a water, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch mixture. Heaven on a fork!

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